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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cold · craft · bulb · wax · fall · safe · pitch · drill

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. fall — to drop
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. craft — a skill
  6. drill — a practice
  7. craft — boats
  8. pitch — completely
  9. cold — not warm
  10. drill — army training
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. bulb — for light
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. bulb — for light
  19. fall — to drop
  20. drill — the tool
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. wax — to grow
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. fall — the season

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com